


OC Advent Drabbles 2008

by Garnigal



Category: The OC
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-01
Updated: 2010-04-06
Packaged: 2017-10-08 18:10:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/78165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garnigal/pseuds/Garnigal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ryan Atwood</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Glitter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan Atwood

_All that glisters is not gold_ used to just be a line in a play that he couldn't admit he'd read.

In Newport, it had a whole new meaning.

The sunshine seemed brighter, or maybe it was just that the streets were cleaner and the water bluer.

But what really glittered were the people. They wore precious metals and gems like they were cheap plastic, but even the diamond sparkle couldn't compete with the white smiles and the silky hair.

He'd been dazzled at first, but it didn't take long to realize that all the shine made the shadows darker.


	2. Holly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica Townsend

The table was perfect.

The white tablecloth perfectly set off the red napkins. The plates were white but edged with silver to match the perfectly spotless cutlery. The centerpiece of evergreen and holly branches dripping with berries was perfectly arranged in a perfectly polished silver bowl.

She imagined the perfect dinner party, with the perfect guests laughing at her husband's perfectly brilliant stories.

Her perfect daughter joined them with perfect manners and disappeared with perfect silence. The perfect feast was perfectly arranged and tasted perfectly delicious.

She turned off the lights. As long as it stayed perfect, so did she.


	3. Eggnog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa

Rosa bustled around the Cohen house. Everyone was out, thank heavens, so she could follow her preferred schedule without having to work around the boys studying or watching television or Mr. and Mrs. Cohen working or… well, she chose not to think about what she'd accidentally walked in on.

She gathered the dishes first, then straightened up. She vacuumed and put the clean dishes away. The last and worst job was cleaning the fridge, making sure all the leftover eggnog from the holidays was thrown away.

She'd learned the hard way that the sooner that stuff went out, the better.


	4. Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth Cohen

The water was black. Stars twinkled in the night sky, but the waves prevented their reflection.

He'd always thought of the ocean as warm and blue. But the Summer Breeze seemed lost and tiny, even though he could still see the lights of Newport in the distance. He'd never taken his boat out at night before. A party on board a huge yacht hadn't prepared him for how big the ocean really was.

But Ryan went back to Chino, and Seth had made his choice. The lights may be beckoning him home, but he took his bearings from the stars.


	5. Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sandy Cohen

How could he compete with her old flame?

Tall, blond and built (though he'd never admit that last one aloud), Jimmy Cooper was the guy Sandy had been competing with and losing to all his life. Jimmy had money, and didn't mind spending it on flashy stuff for himself or his women. Jimmy had connections, and didn't mind calling in a favour to whisk a girl into the mountains for a ski weekend or to a sold-out concert. Jimmy had bright white teeth, a wide smile and charm that could get him whatever he wanted.

But somehow, Sandy had Kirsten.


	6. Wise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan Atwood

There are different kinds of wise.

He'd always been streetwise – he knew what secrets to keep and where to avoid.

He knew about penny wise and pound foolish – Christmas with not even bowl of cereal, much less a bike, though Mom and Dad always celebrated Atwood-style.

He knew about wise guys – both the ones in old movies that AJ modeled himself on by sticking a gun in his waistband and also the wise guys that get slapped around when they talk back.

But in Newport he was learning it was wise to trust Sandy, share with Seth, and tease Kirsten.


	7. Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan Atwood

There were a lot of parties in Newport.

Ryan had been to everything from $500 dollar a plate black tie galas to drunken beach bashes that degenerated into arguing, brawls and crying girls. He'd been to standing room only concerts and opening night at the opera house for   
The Magic Flute. He'd even been to a baby shower, which he'd argued against attending as hard as Seth had fought against the opera.

No matter how many parties he went to, he'd still prefer to spend his evening at home with Seth, Sandy and Kirsten, eating pizza and watching a movie.


	8. Latkes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan Atwood and Seth Cohen

"Hey. Latka. Mom loved Latka."

"Your mother loved latkes? Was she Jewish? That would be so cool! We could be half-Jewish together in this WASPy town, using our delicious traditional foods and amusingly timed 'oy veys' to bring people together."

"What are you talking about, Seth?"

"Delicious latkes. Fried potato pancakes served with either savoury or sweet garnishes because they are so wonderfully versatile. What are you talking about?"

"Latka Gravas from Taxi? Andy Kaufman? 'Tenk you veddy much?'"

"That's… a surprisingly good Latka. But explain something - why do you only get reruns and 80's music in Chino? Ow!"


	9. Reindeer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth Cohen

Seth loved going to Newport for Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa let him eat whatever he wanted and gave him the best presents.

His favourite part was when Grandma took him to see the Santa Claus parade. Newport people had lots of money, so he figured they had the real Santa, not like Berkley. Newport's Santa just had to be real. He even brought real reindeer to pull his sleigh in the parade!

Mommy said Grandma couldn't take him this year, but she and Daddy would take him. And this year they were going to stay in Newport even after Christmas!


	10. Bauble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trey Atwood

It was just a cheap bauble, shiny but worthless. He'd made it when he was six or seven, he thought. Maybe another mother would have remembered, would have a story about it, but not Dawn.

He made up his own story, instead. How he brought it home, proud of what he'd made and wanting to show Mom, but she was too busy. She was always busy back then, tired and kind of angry. But later, after she'd put Ryan in his crib, she tiptoed in to tell him what a good job he did.

'Course, it was just a story.


	11. Pudding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan Atwood

Pudding was a powder that came in a box. You added milk, stirred it up to try and make most of the powder dissolve, and ate it with a spoon.

Pudding was not cake. Pudding was not filled with fruit and alcohol (though if Mom could have made pudding with vodka, she might have had it more often). Pudding was not set on fire. Pudding was not served in cut glass bowls with a warm, rich sauce that was nothing but sugar and even more alcohol.

Pudding was delicious.

Pudding was not an acquired taste, no matter what Sandy said.


	12. Punch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan Atwood

It felt like he'd been sick for a week.

Mostly because he had been.

His head throbbed, his body ached, he couldn't even think about food. His fever was so high he started to shiver. He was too miserable to sleep, but too weak to leave his bed. Noise and light made it worse, so Seth's attempts to entertain him with television, video games and chatter were quickly aborted.

So it was no wonder that, punchy from illness, Ryan whispered a heartfelt "I love you" every time Kirsten brought him juice.

And every time, she whispered "I love you, too".


	13. Scrooge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan Atwood

"Sir? You asked to see me?"

"Sit down, Bob. You know we've had some tough times lately, and we've all been working hard to keep things together. I'm sorry, but the time has come that we need to make some cuts."

"You're firing me? On Christmas Eve? You son of a… This is like something from a movie."

"I'm not firing you, Bob, just right-sizing for our economic realities. Dylan, can you, uh, 'help' Bob gather up his things?

"I won't forget this, Atwood. I'll never forgive this!"

Ryan put his head on his desk. How had he become Scrooge?


	14. Snowflake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Atwoods

It starts off small, like a single snowflake triggering an avalanche:  
A job lost, a scary angry man, a battered and shattered woman, two frightened little boys.

Dangers compound, like scattered flurries:  
Red and blue lights, a man becomes a criminal, a woman indulges in vice, two boys try and withstand.

The winds pick up and life becomes a blizzard:  
A car packed with belongings, a woman finds new men, two boys take new paths.

Nothing is visible in the whiteout:  
Screeching brakes, more addict than woman, one boy follows his father's footsteps, the other boy…

Gets a second chance.


End file.
